In the News

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) announced that Mark Graber, MD FACP will be its new Chief Medical Officer effective November 7. The announcement was made at the 11th Annual International Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference (DEM2018) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The FY 2019 spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services that was signed into law last week included $2 million in new funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) “to support grants to address diagnostic errors” and explore the process of establishing Centers for Diagnostic Excellence.

Each year, diagnostic errors affect 12 million adults in outpatient settings and are responsible for an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 hospital deaths. They are the most common, the costliest, and the most dangerous type of paid medical malpractice claims and the most common cause of medical errors reported by patients. The SIDM Fellowship in Diagnostic Excellence was developed to encourage and support careers dedicated to improving diagnosis.

A coalition of more than 40 healthcare and patient advocacy organizations today launched a targeted effort to improve the quality of medical diagnoses, especially those that can result in patient harm. Researchers estimate that up to 80,000 deaths a year in U.S. hospitals can be attributed to inaccurate or delayed diagnoses.

The newly enacted federal spending bill calls improving medical diagnosis a “moral, professional, and public health imperative” and directs federal health agencies to focus attention on it. Building on research from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Congress used the FY 2018 federal spending bill to direct the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to propose a strategy for improving diagnosis.

This week the ECRI Institute named diagnostic errors the top patient safety concern of 2018. They note: “According to both studies and claims analyses, diagnostic errors are common, and they can have serious consequences. Miscommunication is a common issue, but often not the only one. ‘It’s a multifactorial problem,’

A nationally renowned leader in patient safety, Susan E. Sheridan, MIM, MBA, DHL will join the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) on January 22, as the organization’s first-ever Director of Patient Engagement. In this newly created position, Sheridan will spearhead efforts to ensure that the patient and family perspective informs all facets of SIDM’s work to improve diagnostic accuracy and timeliness while reducing harm caused by diagnostic errors.

While much attention has been given broadly to the concept of teamwork in medicine, the concept of a diagnostic team is novel. Two new articles and an editorial in the latest issue of Diagnosis address the importance of involving nurses in the diagnostic process as critical members of the healthcare team.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) announced new board leadership at the 10th Annual Diagnostic Error in Medicine (DEM) Conference this week in Boston, Massachusetts. David Newman-Toker, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Director of the Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence at Johns Hopkins Medicine, has been elected President-Elect of SIDM, effective immediately.

Today, at its annual Diagnostic Error in Medicine conference, the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) announced two new resources to support physicians in developing the knowledge and competencies needed to improve their diagnostic skills.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) has received a Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The 18-month project, Patients Improving Research in Diagnosis, will develop and evaluate an innovative curriculum to train Patient Partners to participate in the design, execution and dissemination of research to improve diagnosis.

The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), which recently merged with the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), have received a $725,100 grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to better understand how delayed or wrong diagnoses happen, and to test strategies to reduce them.